Gardening help?

[Jenefer3]

My son dug a hole, trying to get to china, and since that proved an impossible task, he tossed 2 potatoes in there and covered them up. Well now I have these "bushes" that have sprouted up - there are a lot in the area of where he tossed them, but some have sprouted up elsewhere too. My question is, how do you know when these things are ready to be dug up or whatnot? My son is very impatiently waiting for them to be ready so he can get dirty some more.

Thanks.

[Thawn]

My son (18) wanted to plant potatoes too this year! Guess they're never too old to play in the dirt! I'm just waiting for fall to dig them up. They are real bushy. We kept covering them with dirt untill we ran out. Good luck with em!

[Littleme]

Potatoes are generaly ready to dig up when they stop growing and the green on top starts to die. Some people like smaller potatoes and dig sooner. Hope this helps.

[ilovecats]

New to this.so if you plant potatoes,more potatoes grow?Or is it just a plant?Learn something new everyday.

[Littleme]

If you plant a potato, or just the eyes that grow on the potato, you will get more potatoes.

[lucimPI]

You usually wait until the plant (green top) is all brown and dried out. Make sure that you do not dig close to the plant because you may cut the potatoes. Dig about 12 inches away. The potatoes themselves tend to spread out underground. Hope you get a good crop.

[cathych]

you can cut the potato up into several pieces, a piece where each eye is.

[ahippiechic]

You usually wait until the plant (green top) is all brown and dried out. Make sure that you do not dig close to the plant because you may cut the potatoes. Dig about 12 inches away. The potatoes themselves tend to spread out underground. Hope you get a good crop.

Yeah, in fall the 'bush' part will start to dry up, then you dig them. We always used a rake-looking thing. put it down deep (under where the potatoes would be) quite a ways from the plant, then flipped the dirt over, so the potatoes come up to the top.

I used to HATE cutting potatoes for planting, but then dropping them was worse, because you tend to stay bent over doing it. Always achy the next day.

[Jenefer3]

My son didn't even bother cutting them up, he just took some potatoes that he deemed unworthy of eating and tossed them in there completely whole.

It wouldn't have been so bad if the bush had contained itself, but I've got all these bushes that have sprouted up in random parts of the yard...makes it a big pain in the butt to mow, cuz I don't dare just run it over and call it good, oh no, we have to allow it to grow and make more potatoes...why? so he has more to plant...:gaah then if we dig it up, we'll have even more holes in the yard...who would've thunk that the dang potatoes would spread out like that?